Governor Adegboyega Oyetola of the State of Osun, on Thursday, said his administration is committed to the promotion of equitable and value-based developmental education that emphasizes and reflect the Omoluabi principles and philosophies.
He added that the recent policy reviews undertaken by his administration and the focused investment it has continued to make in education, are pointers to his commitment to qualitative and functional education in the State.
Governor Oyetola stated this while interacting with the 215 Chairmen, Secretaries, Community Relations Officers and other Board Members of the State Universal Basic Education Board and Local Government Educational Authority (SUBEB/LGEAs), in Osogbo, Osun State.
According to Oyetola: “Just as I promised in my manifesto and reaffirmed during my inaugural speech, we are committed to the promotion of equitable and value-based developmental education that emphasizes and reflect the Omoluabi principles and philosophies. This is the kind of education that is central to the revitalisation of the Osun economy and put it on a sustainable footing.
“This policy objective has informed our painstaking interventions in this sector. We are as interested in accelerating infrastructural developments just as we are in ensuring vibrant policies that will make us have the educational sector of our dreams. This commitment for instance informed the recent policy reviews we undertook and the focused investment we have continued to make in the sector”, Oyetola stated.
He charged the stakeholders on vigorous pursuance of the policy framework of the State towards bringing the education sector of Osun to am enviable height.
“As critical stakeholders, you are expected to fully understand the policy framework and conscientiously implement them to give Osun more desired edge in this information-driven century.
“Realising the privilege you have as leaders and managers of our children, you must pursue excellence and jettison mediocrity in your management of our schools. You should lead by example through focused leadership, vision, creativity, hardworking, discipline, diligence and perseverance”, Oyetola charged.
Also, Governor Oyetola bemoaned the spate of indiscipline in public schools, and charged the Local Government Educational Authorities to firm up monitoring of processes and operations across schools in their terrain.
He continued: “The kind of delinquent behaviours being report in schools today are heart-breaking. Pupils in basic classes, for instance, are already showing signs of notoriety. These things are scary and ought not to be.
“The government is desirous of addressing this negative trend before it gets out of hand, but those of you who are educational stakeholders must rise to the occasion by upscaling monitoring across schools and escalating reports of delinquencies to the appropriate authorities for sanctions and corrections”, Oyetola added.
Oyetola, while responding to some of the issues raised during the interaction, said the government was already looking into some critical issues that include the encroachment of schools’ properties by miscreants and land grabbers, the recruitment of teachers to address the issue of manpower shortage, putting in place measures to ensure proper accountability with respect to the managing of Educational Trust Funds, and the proper placement and upgrading of Teacher who were wrongly placed on salary structure
Earlier in his remarks, the Director-General of the State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB) in Osun, Hon. Israel Ajibola Famurewa, lauded Governor Oyetola’s collegiate approach to governance, adding that the interactive session was: “a further demonstration of his administration’s resolution to consolidate and concretise its legacy in education for the benefit of the younger generation”.
He added that the various educational policies and strategies of the Oyetola-led government has become a success story which has continued to serve as a reference point for good governance.
The Chairman of the Central Working Committee of SUBEB/LGEAs, Dr. Olutayo Olaniyi, in his separate remark, described Governor Oyetola as leader with capacity, intentions and commitment, adding that he has brought these qualities to the table in salvaging the education sector of the State.
